The defendant, aged in his 40s, is on trial before the Dunedin District Court on two counts of breaching a protection order. The woman told the court she had started seeing the married man in 2021 but ended the relationship in March 2023. The complainant told the court much of the contact she had with her ex-partner in 2023 was motivated by fear. The court heard the complainant was sitting outside another St Clair cafe, when the man drove past. The woman told the court she was surfing when she saw the defendant 50-100m away, prompting a panic attack.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 23, 2026 15:44 UTC